Ceregene Inc. concentrates on the delivery of nervous system growth factors to treat neurodegenerative disorders using gene delivery. Specifically, the company created CERE-110 for the treatment of Alzheimer’s disease, which affects millions of people in the United States.

The company today announced the University of California, San Diego, has received a $5.4 million grant from the National Institute of Aging at the National Institutes of Health to support Ceregene’s phase II clinical study of CERE-100.

“We are pleased to be involved in evaluating CERE-110 which we believe may be a promising therapy for Alzheimer’s disease,” Paul Aisen, M.D., principal investigator of the planned phase 2 trial and director of the Alzheimer’s Disease Cooperative Study at University of California, San Diego, stated in a press release. “Over five million people in the U.S. are currently living with Alzheimer’s disease — a disease which is devastating to patients and their families — and we are in need of more effective treatment options for these patients.”

The phase II study tails a phase 1 study of CERE-110 that indicated a single administration of the therapy was well tolerated; however, the study was too small to make a definitive statement about treatment efficacy.

“The safety profile that we have observed from CERE-110 in the phase 1 study is very encouraging, and we are delighted that this NIH grant will enable us to further evaluate this product candidate. We are especially grateful for this funding given that it was based on peer review, and we look forward to using it to advance this product,” Jeffrey M. Ostrove, Ph.D., president and CEO of Ceregene stated. “Similar to the other therapies in our pipeline which target Parkinson’s disease, ocular disorders and ALS (Lou Gehrig’s disease), CERE-110 may have the ability to not only treat the symptoms of Alzheimer’s disease but to protect dying neurons and potentially result in the slowing of disease progression.”

The company anticipates enrolling 50 patients with mild to moderate Alzheimer’s for the phase II study to take place next year. The company’s investors include Alta Partners, MPM Capital, Investor Growth Capital and Cell Genesys, Inc. (Nasdaq: CEGE) as well as Hamilton BioVentures and California Technology Partners.

Let us hear your thoughts below:

Last 5 posts by QualityStocks

• Lion Energy, Southern Star Energy (SSEY.OB), Gold Star Resources Fuse to Create Combined Company with Promising Growth Opportunities - November 6th, 2009
• VIASPACE, Inc. (VSPC.OB) Subsidiary Ionfinity Captivates Mass Spectrometry Market - November 6th, 2009
• Google’s Android Takes a Bite Out of Apple - November 6th, 2009
• Continucare Corp. (CNU) First Quarter Fiscal Year 2010 Results Show 116% Increase in Operating Profit - November 6th, 2009
• Muscle Flex, Inc. (MFLI.PK) Now Accepting Orders for the Beagle StepFit, the BUDDY Tablet Caddy and “Danny Alex Commercial Blue” T-Shirts - November 6th, 2009